Why Is HEX Down Today? Richard Heart Detained in Istanbul on an Interpol Red Notice, HEX Falls 27% and PulseChain 34%

What happened in Istanbul

Decrypt, citing Daily Sabah and the Turkish news agency IHA, reported that Istanbul police and Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT) detained Heart, whose legal name is Richard James Schueler, together with his wife on Wednesday morning. Police had watched his address in the Beşiktaş district before moving in.

The reports differ on what was found, and we list them by source rather than pick one:

Protos, citing Haberler, said the raid was coordinated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's financial crimes division together with Interpol and MİT, and that investigators were examining an alleged Istanbul-based fraud network with offices in the US, Finland and Spain. None of these claims has been tested in court.

The Interpol notice and the old SEC case

A Red Notice is a request to police worldwide to find and provisionally arrest someone pending extradition. It is not an international arrest warrant. Interpol published the notice for Heart in December 2024 at Finland's request. According to Decrypt, it lists one charge, aggravated tax fraud; Protos reports that Finland's case involves hundreds of millions of euros in alleged unpaid tax, and that he is also accused of an assault on a minor in 2021.

Many holders will remember the US case. In 2023 the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Heart and three entities he controlled, Hex, PulseChain and PulseX, of raising more than $1 billion through unregistered securities offerings, and of using at least $12 million of investor money on luxury goods, including sports cars, watches and a 555-carat black diamond called "The Enigma". A federal judge dismissed that complaint in February 2025 for lack of jurisdiction, finding that his activities were not clearly aimed at US investors, and the SEC did not amend it by its April deadline. So the US matter is closed; the Finnish one is the reason for today's detention.

How the market reacted

All three of Heart's tokens fell hard. CoinGecko data at 16:48 UTC (00:48 SGT, 15 October):

From the 24-hour high to the latest price, HEX lost about 27% and PLS about 43%. PLS closed at its 24-hour low when we read the data, which means selling had not paused. These tokens trade mainly on decentralized exchanges such as PulseX rather than on large centralized exchanges, so a single large seller can move the price far more than it would move a top-50 coin. HEX, for example, is no longer offered on Bitget's spot market.

What this means if you hold HEX, PLS or PLSX

The code keeps running. HEX is a smart contract on Ethereum and PulseChain is a blockchain run by its validators. A founder's detention does not switch off a token contract or freeze a wallet you control. What it changes is sentiment and liquidity: these projects have always been marketed around Heart personally, and when the marketing engine is in a cell, buyers step back.

Price is the real risk. With thin order books, the gap between the price you see and the price you get on a large sale can be wide. If you need to reduce exposure, split the sale into smaller pieces and check the quote each time. Our lesson on price vs fill price explains why the screen price can mislead you on illiquid tokens.

Staked HEX is locked by design. If your HEX is in a stake, read the stake terms in the official interface before you act. Ending a stake early is a decision with its own cost, separate from today's price move, so do not let panic make it for you.

Expect scams. Every big founder story brings fake "emergency migration", "claim your refund" and "verify your wallet" messages. No legitimate project will ask for your seed phrase, and no court process asks you to send tokens anywhere. Our scam red flags lesson lists the patterns to recognise. If a message links to a site that wants wallet approval to "protect" your coins, close it.

Watch for the next step, not the noise. The facts that will matter come from official sources: whether Finland files an extradition request, what Turkish prosecutors say about the local investigation, and whether any asset seizure touches on-chain wallets. Social media will fill the gap with guesses in the meantime.

What we could not verify

We could not read the Daily Sabah, IHA or Haberler originals directly; the details above come from Decrypt and Protos, which cite them. We found no statement from Heart, his lawyers or Turkish prosecutors, and no confirmation of an extradition request. Reports of the cash and items seized differ widely, as the table shows.

Quick answers

Was Richard Heart arrested? Turkish media report that he was detained in Istanbul on 14 October 2026 on an Interpol Red Notice requested by Finland; he has not been reported as charged in Turkey.

Why is HEX down today? Because of that detention. HEX fell about 27% in 24 hours, PLS about 34% and PLSX about 28%, on markets that are thin and dominated by holders who follow Heart.

What is Richard Heart wanted for? Finland sought the Red Notice for alleged aggravated tax fraud; Protos reports it involves hundreds of millions of euros, and Finnish authorities also accuse him of a 2021 assault.

Did the SEC case against Richard Heart end? Yes. A US judge dismissed it in February 2025 for lack of jurisdiction, and the SEC did not refile.

Are my HEX tokens frozen? No public report says any contract or user wallet has been frozen. Tokens in your own wallet remain under your control; protect your seed phrase and ignore unsolicited "migration" links, as our scam red flags guide explains.

For the wider market today, see our live liquidations page.